Made A Way

This is my testimony.

On 07 July 2017, I graduated with a great distinction from my Master's in Biomedical Sciences. A Dutch 5 year degree program.

I was not born clever.
God made this possible. He made a way for me.

This is my story.

My early primary years were a struggle, I often came 2nd or 3rd from last in a class of about 30 pupils. I even had to repeat one year. However, my breakthrough came 2 years after we had moved to Zimbabwe, when I was promoted to the faster stream in grade 7. And in high school, I became one of the top students in my class. And when I finished high school in Suriname on 25 May 2011, I was the best in my class.

A month later, I went to Belgium to study at university. Well I actually like to say that I was sent by my parents lol. Belgium was the best option for me to study except for one thing, I couldn't  speak , Dutch,the language I would be studying in. I knew how to greet people but beyond that I didn't understand a thing. Having studied in English all my life this was quite a disappointment and at the same time a horrifying thing. However, my parents were confident that a one year advanced Dutch-as -a-second-language course would remove the language barrier.

So on 11 June 2011, I landed in Belgium and started my new student life with my sister. During the summer, in preparation for a placement test, I did some Dutch self study with a language book I got from a friend. I was motivated to learn Dutch since my higher education depended on it. I came back from the placement test with a headache...convinced that I would probably start in level A1 but God being so good I started in level B1 (the 3rd level) in September. I didn't expect it at all. About 6 months later, I had obtained the necessary certificate to prove that I was proficient enough to study in Dutch at university.

I started studying Biomedical Sciences in September 2012. My first year was nothing but hectic. I didn't know anyone for the first few weeks and spent most lectures seated at the very back of the auditorium. I would get back home after classes very dejected...I didn't understand my courses so well...I doubted I would make it beyond 1st semester. But God being good and gracious, I had my sister who encouraged me and He gave me friends that helped me through my 1st year in so many ways. Some gave me notes or summaries,  others were willing to sit down with me until I understood the topic and even others studied with me in the library till it closed. God also gave me professors that were understanding...who didn't mark me based on my language but on my knowledge. I made it through first year, I had average grades and only had to resit one course.

In 2nd year, I became friend's with someone without whom the rest of  my uni years would have been very difficult and  very different. We became each others go to person when we needed further explanations or needed to discuss certain topics. We made a good team academically and socially.

When I finished my Bacherlor's degree in August 2015, my grades had improved over the years from my initial 52% overal grade to 62%. I had had 2 resits in total.
In September 2015, I started my Master's degree. Before I started, I asked God for one thing...that I would have no resists, I didn't want to spend my last summer vacations studying for exams and He answered my prayers and more! I had no resists and I graduated with a great distinction (73%).

Though my beginning was small, God made my ending big.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." - Ephesians 3:20

God did it for me, He will surely do it for you!

Wanting What God Wants

I came across a beautiful quote about a year ago in my news feed. I instantly liked and it saved the image with the quote on it. I remember thinking to myself that that's exactly what I wanted to be true in my life, I wanted God to have His way. I also remember thinking along the lines of Jeremiah 29:11, because God has good plans for me, then why wouldn't I want what He wanted for me more than what I wanted for myself? After all, His plans for my life are waaaay better! 

However, a couple weeks ago when I was studying Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer, I came to understand the quote in a whole new way. The thing is, my desires (like many other people's desires) are not always in line with God's. There are times, everyday, when what I want to do or say  will not please Him and is contrary to His will and plans for my life. There is this gap between God's desires and mine. Although I do not have the power to always be in line with God's desires, God has done something in me that enables me to want and do what He wants. God has placed His Holy Spirit within me to will and do what pleases Him. 

 "The Holy Spirit will never [ever] tell us to do anything that isn't in God's will. He speaks exactly what He hears from the Father. He begins to influence our minds, will, emotions and bodies to desire what is pleasing to God and will bring Him glory. " - Priscilla Shirer

So the first part is that it is God's work.

- God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (Phil 2:13)

- Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

"Our responsibility is to cooperate by obeying His promptings and bathing ourselves in the Word and in prayer. - Priscilla Shirer

But just because it is God's work, doesn't mean that we don't have a part to play. The second part is our response in obedience and in yielding.

- Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. (Phil2:12, NLT)

- I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you (Romans 12:1)

Thus, to want what God wants is not just to want His good plans for us; but it is also do desire what He desires. This means that we must be intentionally aware of the Holy Spirit and what He is speaking to us more than our own minds, bodies, emotions etc. And that we should response by yielding and obeying. 

I'll end with an example. This week, I had made a mistake with the experiment I was performing which made the data I had already collected useless. I knew I needed to inform my supervisor and instructor about the mistake I had made but I was scared and I was contemplating whether or to tell the truth. I had to remind myself that as God's child I was not a liar and that no matter how hard it would be to admit my mistake, I was to please God and not myself. I eventually braced myself and informed them. Of course both were disappointed but they also understood that such mistakes can indeed happen. In this case, the Holy Spirit reminded me of my identity and I responded by obeying. Although it was not easy, it was worth it because I knew that I did something that made God proud. 

Blessings💜


If you evaluate your own life, are you more prone to want what is contrary to God's wants?
In which areas of your life to you struggle with this the most?
What steps can you take to change that?

Check out Discerning the Voice of God from Priscilla Shirer! It's absolutely amazing! :) 

Resolutions: changing for the better

Hello there!😊


My purpose for this blog is deeply rooted in my previous post (click on the link if you haven't read it: 2016: Reflections & Resolutions), in which I mentioned the importance writing down a resolutions list and reviewing it regularly. I also mentioned a lesson I learned last year, that lasting change begins, continues and ends with the Holy Spirit.

 I have already started working on my resolution list, and it's already pretty long although it's not done..and that's kind of scary BUT the good thing is that most of the points are interconnected, so we'll just call it detailed instead of long 😉.  And these past days, God has been pointing out things to me that need to change...things that I didn't consider when I started writing. God wants me to change for the better and He is initiating that change, and that perfectly aligns with what I wrote about lasting change. The things that He has been pointing out are so deep and definitely something that needs to be worked on before I find myself in worse situations. I see that God is giving me another chance or a grace period and I am so thankful for it. I see them as "God's resolution list" for me and I'll be sharing them in the coming posts.

So this whole, "God's resolution list" kind of shocked me and I was wondering if it's Biblical and it actually is. Let me explain. I was reminded of these verses from Psalm 139.

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; 

Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—then guide me on the road to eternal life.

God knows us our hearts through and through. He knows everything about us. He can examine our lives and point out things that are wrong in our lives and He can lead us on the road to right road. 

So as good as it is to write lists from our view, we have an incomplete view of ourselves. Therefore, I encourage you to ask God to point out areas as you write your list. Some of you may be thinking that it's too far into the new year to write or to be talking about resolutions or even to make them. But let me remind you that we have 340 days left of the year, and January isn't over yet!😁 It's never too late to want to change for the better, and we don't have to wait for a new year to make resolutions. Everyday is an opportunity to do better. And last but not least, let us ask God to guide us so that we can live out the resolutions that we have.

Blessings 💜

2016: Reflections & Resolutions

Helloo there!

I hope you had a lovely celebration and are super duper excited for 2017! I am slowly loading my excitement bar and simultaneously downloading my thankfulness bar 😊.

God was good to me, my family and friends in 2016 in so many ways. He has provided us with family unity and laughter, great friends, good health, finances, jobs... you name it! He did it! And I am grateful for these two highlights:  I GOT ENGAGED! and am FINISHING MY MASTER'S DEGREE (bye bye university! hehehehe) and also for my FRIENDS! Mehn, I love my friends especially my sister! They have taught me so much about life! They have built me up in so many ways and encouraged me when I was low. God has used them to mold and shape me. So much to be grateful for! God is good, all the time!!!

 As good as 2016 was to my family, it wasn't all cherries and roses mainly but not only, because my sweet Mbuya (grandmother) passed away. We didn't see her death coming, it happened so fast but still we are thankful for her life. She was an amazing mother and grandmother who is dearly missed! I thank God that my parents were settled in Zambia when it happened. He moved them from Suriname only two years ago. I thank Him because we got to spend time with her and to enjoy her. She was an inspirational believer, a role model to me and others and I believe she is enjoying herself in heaven right now!

Although we are already in 2017, I encourage and challenge you to still take some time aside to reflect on 2016 month by month if you haven't, both the good and bad events and to be grateful. A friend of my recently told me something very profound, "In the night sky, the stars shine and glisten, radiating like diamonds in the sky. There are treasures in the night. Dark times are not to be feared, they have their treasures too."

With the ending of one year and the beginning of another comes: RESOLUTIONS! We all want to be or do better in some area or other in our lives.  And that's good. It's good to want change for the better. I usually write up a list of things I want to progress in spiritually, physically, emotionally, academically ... and review it now and then. I actually need to work on taking more time to review. Nevertheless, one very important thing I learned last year is that lasting change starts and continues with the Spirit. You can't do it without Him. If you want to grow in some area, or if you are not sure of which areas you need to grow in; ask God and He will show you and help you mature in it. Start, continue and end with Him. When you fail, don't beat yourself down, get up and try again. Never ever give up!

 Goodbye 2016. Hello 2017!

Relationship Series Part 1: Eggshell

I suppose I can say that I grew up in church. I remember going as a kid and I continued to as I grew older. I was surrounded by Christianity not only in church but in school too. So, what I knew about God was mainly from Sunday school, youth group and school. My knowledge and understanding of God developed more in Suriname and Belgium between my late teens and early twenties. In this time, I began to understand God and the Bible more. God was no longer this far-off person and the Bible was no longer “that-book-that-I-couldn’t-understand”.

However, despite this progression, my life was not completely surrendered to Him. Sunday belonged for God and the rest of the week belonged to me. There was a disconnection between the girl who sat in church and the girl who swore and went clubbing until the wee hours of Sunday morning. I thought I could enjoy the best of both worlds but that was a lie from the very pit of hell. I blended in with other church folk externally but was empty on the inside, like an egg shell without it’s crucial internal components. Although I could fool others, I could not fool God. Christ was not the centre of my life.

It’s only by God’s wonderful mercy that I got out of that pit. He placed people in my path that planted seeds of truth that led to my liberty. 

I wrote this post to remind and warn that being a church-goer or in an open relationship with God isn’t real Christianity. The devil wants us to believe that it is okay to love both world and God; that we don’t need to choose one or the other. But that is such a big fat LIE! You can’t have the best of both worlds because you’ll love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24), and loving the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). Choices have to be made, all or nothing choices. God wants all of us not just some of us. We are to love Him with everything that we are: all your heart, all your mind, all your strength and all your soul. 

So maybe you were once like me, and well I thank God that He got us out of that pit! Maybe you are in that pit now, if so, don’t lose hope! He got me out, He surely can do it for you too. All you need to do respond to His call for surrender and daily pick up your cross and follow Him. It doesn’t mean you won’t fall, you will but you’ll get up each time (Proverbs 24:16). 

Blessings

Sharing is Caring

The societies we are a living in, especially in the West, are evolving from ones that are concerned about others to ones that are individualized and closed. And as a result, we are becoming the kind of people that "mind our own business" in other words, people that are concerned only about themselves.

 This change and it's consequences are contrary to what God desires of us. Human beings are created in the image of God. God is a relational being and is greatly concerned about our welfare. So when we become less relational and more selfish, we are acting in an abnormal manner. One of the most important ways to show genuine care for others is by sharing the Gospel in word and in deed, God doesn't want us to live among the lost without caring enough to tell them about His love which was so richly expressed in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection three days later.

In the years that I have been living in Belgium, I have found it hard to be an effective witness of Jesus not only because of the above mentioned reason. For the first two years, I was uncertain of my faith although I still sought God, it's not easy to talk about someone you don't know. After my baptism, it was mainly because I was afraid of what people would think of me if they knew that I believed or  I was not confident enough to start a conversation about the Gospel.

But last month, God had been speaking to me and teaching me about evangelism in so many ways.
- He encouraged me to not only know my faith but also share it and  He reminded me that I am His ambassador through whom many will come to know Him.
- He helped me understand that  it's not my job to convict and cause people to confess that Jesus is Lord but that my part is in planting the seed which He will tend and cause to grow.
- He showed me that each day is a day for salvation and that I should seize every opportunity that comes my way.
-  Although I can witness with my lifestyle, I can also do so with my mouth; after all, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. This to for me, has been the most important lesson because I had always relied more on my lifestyle to witness to people. However, I have also been given a mouth to speak words of life. One method is not better than the other, both a biblical and both should be used.
- Lastly, He made me realize that wherever and with whoever I am, I am there to witness.

 All this has been a lot to take in but the Holy Spirit both teaches and enables us to do good works of which evangelism is one. We can not witness in our own strength. Instead effective witnessing is a result of a rich relationship God which develops from spending time with Him, the knowledge of one's identity in Christ and a correct understanding of the Bible. The more I will know Him, the easier it will be to tell someone about Him. And the more I understand that I have not been given a Spirit of fear, the more I will not be ashamed to tell others about the Lord. Lastly, the more I understand the Bible, the better I will explain the faith.

The sharing of the Gospel to a single person has a ripple effect, like that which is seen when a stone is thrown in a lake with each subsequent wave growing larger, it not only affects the person in which the seed was planted but also his/her lineage and  the lineage of others around him/her.

What greater gift is there to give to someone than the message of eternal life because of God's love displayed in Jesus' death and resurrection?

Now is the time of salvation! Be bold, be silent no more!



How has God been using you to draw people to Himself? What do you find difficult about the sharing the Gospel? Which songs inspire you to evangelize?

Two songs that have greatly inspired me about witnessing are Tell The World by Lecrae ft Mali Music and  Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective. 

Check out these devotionals from Our Daily Bread about evangelizing:
Evie's Decision
A Pleasing Aroma

Masterpieces of Grace

Leuven is a lovely small city. Every year and in different places something is always under-construction, it can be anything but usually it is a building, a road or a roof.The same is true for other cities like Ghent and Brussels. Renovation can be considered as something typically Belgium. Just take a walk outside and you will hear the drilling machines, the sounds of hammers hitting metal and you will see the builders at work from early morning to late afternoon in winter, spring, summer and autumn and in all kinds of weather too. Their dedication is visible. They want to see the project complete and to admire the beautiful result of hard work.  

Apart from Belgians, I  know Someone who is an expert and incredibly skilled in all things regarding restoration, renewal and rebuilding and He works on people. His name is Jesus. You might think and be convinced that people do not need repair, but we do. We are not in our original state. We used to be, until the fall and are in great need of restoration. Let me be explain further.

When God created the earth and made the first humans (Adam and Eve) in His image, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). But Adam and Eve went against God by disobeying Him. This lead to what we call sin, and every human being after Adam and Eve is born with it (Genesis 3). The problem about sin is that it destroys and disfigures us; it has stolen our true identity and left us empty and separated from God. Sin has made a mess of life. But the good news is that God has given us a solution to this sin problem. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who was in every way human as we are but without sin. He lived, died and rose again. In dying all sin was laid on Him and in rising up again from death, He destroyed the power of sin and all it's consequences such as death for example (Hebrews 2:10-18). So when we accept and confess our sins and  trust that Jesus did this for us, we are saved and we receive eternal life, new life (John 3:16, Rom.10:9; 2Cor 5:17).

This new life consists of a lot of restoration, God bringing us to be like His Son; so in a way taking us back to our original state. He intends for us to be as holy and blameless as He is. So Christians are in fact people under-construction, this project lasts for a lifetime and ends either when we die or when Jesus returns (1Cor 15:35-58). Jesus through His Holy Spirit and our effort is slowly but surely changing our hearts and giving us new habits, new goals, new attitudes (Titus 3:5). Some habits are easier to break than others, some new characteristics will take more time and energy to learn. Some wounds are harder to heal, and painful to treat but they will be healed completely because God is not the type who doesn't finish His projects (Philippians 1:6). However, we should not use this fact that we are being renovated as an excuse to fall back into old destructive habits but as a propeller that energizes to seek to work and cooperate with God. 

And the great thing about this restoration is that, God is not only restoring human beings but everything and one day there will be a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21).

Salvation is only the beginning and Christ is making all things new!

Share your story in the comment section below or with a sister or brother, what new habits has God placed in you? What old habits has He taken away? 

For further reading on this topic, check out the links below (the short list) ;)

http://odb.org/2016/05/01/the-restoration-business/
http://odb.org/2016/05/04/out-of-the-ruins/
http://odb.org/2015/12/02/glass-beach/
http://odb.org/2016/02/03/training-for-life-2/
http://odb.org/2015/06/03/something-new/
http://odb.org/2015/07/27/the-checkup/

Daily Choices & Decisions (Wisdom II)

In my last post, I wrote about wisdom and God (No Longer Encyclopedias). In this post, I am focusing on how to get wisdom and why it is beneficial. 

  

The Bible encourages us to ask for wisdom from God and trust Him to give it to us (James 1:5). Therefore, just as Solomon asked God for wisdom, so can we. For the longest time, I have only asked for academic wisdom but then I realized that I was limiting myself and was in greater need of wisdom for life.

Receiving wisdom doesn't mean that I will SUDDENLY know and understand all things. It's not automatic. If we look at Solomon, his wisdom was first displayed in the judgement of who the baby's mother was (1 Kings 3:16-28) and that was a sometime after he received it from God. And he didn't suddenly write thousands of poems and proverbs (1 Kings 4:29-34), he wrote them over the course of his life. So when we ask and receive wisdom, we don't suddenly become super geniuses but it's a process that is visible in our actions and decisions day after day.
 

from 887thebridge.tumblr.com

Wisdom therefore is displayed in the daily decisions we make. For example, the Bible says in Proverbs that "he who vents his anger is a fool", but that "a person's wisdom makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense" (Proverbs 29:11; 19:11). This is something I am currently struggling with. The thing is, my boyfriend is forgetful unlike me; and there have been times where I have gotten angry over the silliest things that I could have easily overlooked but my own pride and foolishness always got in the way. And it's only afterwards that I realize that I have hurt his feelings and did show him love. So although I have asked for wisdom, I am learning to live wisely daily by seeing my wrongs and aiming to do better next time. It does not mean that I will not fail, the honest truth is that I will but the important thing is that I will get up each time and try my to do better the next time by the power of the Spirit (the righteous fall seven times, they rise again; Proverbs 24:16). 

So far, I have written about how we can get wisdom. Now, a good question to ask is: why on earth would you want wisdom? Here is a short list of the benefits of wisdom, the rest can be found in the Bible ;)         
Proverbs 19:8 = it shows that you love yourself and it will cause you to prosper
Proverbs 1:33 = you will live in peace, untroubled by harm.
Proverbs 2:12, 16 = will save you from evil people, from immoral women
Proverbs 3:13-18, 35; = more precious than silver, gold or rubies; life and riches and honor;
Proverbs 4:4-9 = protection, good judgement,honor

So don't miss out! Get wisdom!

"Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise" -Ephesians 5:15

God bless you!  

No Longer Encyclopedias (Wisdom)

In this post and the ones to follow I will be writing about wisdom: what is it, how to get it and why it's important (i.e. what are the benefits).

 Many of us when we hear the word  wisdom automatically think of Solomon. Although wisdom is instantaneously linked  to Solomon, it does not start nor end with him. 

So what is wisdom?

photo credit: simplydivinelove.blogspot.com

Wisdom is found in God and that's where Solomon got his (1Sam. 3). In Job and Proverbs, we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To fear the Lord means to have reverence for Him, and reverence is to show respect or honor. And what other better way is there to show God that He is worthy of honor and respect other than to obey Him? Wisdom is obedience, this should be an obedience out of love (trust me, you don't want be a Pharisee). Thus without God there is no wisdom and when you find God you also find wisdom. Colossians 2:3 also tells us that all wisdom and knowledge is found in Christ. That's why I think that the Bible also says that he who says there is no God is a fool (Psalm 14:1). And here is where we see that wisdom is not equal to intelligence because there are some pretty clever people out there that don't believe in God. Thus human wisdom will not get you anywhere with God,we need His wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).

How does it differ from knowledge?

 "Wisdom is the right use of knowledge." -Charles Spurgeon

  

"Knowledge is awareness of facts and

 wisdom is awareness of how to use those facts for good goals."- John Piper

So it's knowing what you should and should not do, and acting upon it. (Eph.5:15-17, James 1:22)

Let me give an example to make it more clearer. I recently read a book on sexual purity. I learned a lot from it, it was a great eye-opener. As long as I don't apply what I learned, I am not better than where I was before. Yes, I may know that the devil and my flesh are fighting within me to take the upper hand and cause me to fail, and I may know that I need the Holy Spirit to win this fight.But as long as I don't apply what I learned; then I might as well have not read the book. Then I am being a fool! 

This is applies to everything.For example in our readings of the Bible a lot of truth is revealed to us but as long as we don't apply and use it. As long as we don't let it marinate and take root in our hearts, then they just plain facts. This is an issue I recognize in myself, I read the Word daily but I am very weak spiritually because one of the reasons is that I am being a fool and not applying what am reading. And honestly, am fed up and super happy that God has shown me the step that am missing out time and time again.

Thus in all our getting, let us get wisdom by acting on our knowledge.
  
 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." - Matthew 7:24

 "If you don’t have wisdom that goes with knowledge, you are only a walking encyclopedia. A book of knowledge is useless without the wisdom to know how to apply that knowledge." - Jack Wellman

Stay blessed xoxo

 The book I read on purity is called Sex and the Single Christian Girl by Marian Jordan Ellis (YOU SHOULD READ IT'S AMAZING). Thanks to my dear friend, Mukase, for recommending it to me :)

Lost & Found

I don't know why but I am learning a lot from phones lately. 

On Saturday, I made a trip to Germany. And on one of my trains to my final destination I found an iPhone 6 on a chair. I tried to find the train conductor to hand it in but there was none. So I took it with me hoping that the owner or one of their contacts will finally call after realising that it's missing. To cut the story short, a day later I received neither a call nor a message. I was desperate to find the owner but helas the phone was locked and I eventually was left with the option of handing it to the police which I did. I would have rather seen the phone back in the owner's hands but not handing it in to the police would have been deemed as robbery. No finders-keepers principle here. The law is clear about such things (theft by finding).

But then it got me thinking. How can someone FORGET AN  IPHONE 6 FOR SO LONG? HOW??? How can anyone forget their smartphone? Definitely not me (LOL) but now I know that it can happen. Maybe the person didn't value it or it's not precious to them. Or maybe they are not a phone person which is hard to imagine nowadays but it's possible. 

Then I remembered Jesus who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10, Matthew 18:11). He went to great lengths, the greatest lengths actually to save us who were lost. He didn't forget about us nor leave us to find a solution ourselves; But He became flesh and died a criminals death for our sake and He rose again on the 3rd day so that we may have eternal life. We sure are precious to Him. No doubt about that.  He did so much for us all. He came for ALL people, every single human being is precious to Him. Today He is calling and opens His arms to everyone who believes in Him and sees their need for Him. He loves you and has shown the greatness of His love. A love that nothing can separate us from. 

We aren't meant to stay lost forever instead we are meant to be with Him forever. 

Thank you Lord that you didn't  forget us but came to seek and save that which was lost. 

"Jesus, you are the one who saves, not us. Thank you for rest, for hushing the furious winds of our faithless works. Thank you for stopping the strivings of our souls. Overcome us more and more with the glory of your grace, and make our posture toward others echo this summary of your gospel: “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”" - Jonathan Parnell

If you haven't accepted Jesus into your life, you can do it now. Now is the time of salvation. Don't delay.

God bless xoxo

Underneath It All

I finally got a new phone! 

It's been a journey. My last phone ditched me at my sister's birthday party. It fell down to its destruction. I must admit I should have handled it with more care. When my phone stopped working, my sister gave me her old phone to use [good sister :)]. But man it was a struggle. The first week with that phone taught me a lot about myself. I could hardly take out the phone in public. I was ashamed and afraid of what people might think. I remember texting with my phone hidden in my bag and the frustration with the fact that it was super slow whenever I wanted to call someone. All in all the phone showed me that I view myself and others mostly based on what they own. I judge someone mostly based on their appearance. And that's just horrible.
It reminded me of Samuel when God asked Him to go and anoint a son of Jesse to be Israel's new king instead of Saul (1Samuel 16). When he saw David's older brother, tall and handsome; he thought to himself surely this is the one the Lord meant to appoint as king. But he was wrong and God told him “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” . - 1 Sam.16:7

Many a time we are too quick to judge people and ourselves based on the outside. But a beautiful face doesn't necessarily mean a beautiful heart.

Jesus also talked about this. He called the Pharisees and teachers of religious law white washed tombs with rattling bones inside (Matthew 23:27).

The world does emphasize an external beauty. You see outward beauty promoted everywhere. The media is constantly promoting fashion and weight loss above good behavior and the celebrities some of us look up to have no depth when it comes to character either. 

I don't know about you but I want to be different. I don't want to judge books by their covers. Yes nice clothes etc have their role to play but they are not and should not be the deciding factor about a person's identity. I wanna choose character over wardrobe. And I thank God for my broken phone cause I desperately needed an awakening. I want to see people the way God sees them. Some might argue, well maybe God created us to see people that way after all He said that people don't see as He does. That argument however is only correct to a certain extent, yes we are not God and can't see people exactly as He does but we as believers are being transformed into the likeness of Christ. And Christ was not partial, for example He approached the Samaritan woman at the well despite cultural differences.Therefore, we should strive to be Christ-like with the help of the Holy Spirit because its not something that we can do on our own.

"Dear God, help me to value what You value. 

As I follow Your example, I pray that You will be pleased with what 

You see in my heart. "- Our Daily Bread (An Inside View)

God bless you all xoxo

Guest Post:The Word of God by Myriam Ndanga

The Word of God, when we think about it, we think about the Bible.

But the Word of God is so much more. Let's take a look at the Bible and at Jesus.

The Bible is active and alive, it's our daily bread, it gives life, it's the Truth, it shows us the way, it is there for correction, encouragement and teaching, it's as sharp as a double sided sword, it's perfect in itself, it enlightens our ways by enlightening the path of our feet and much more.

Jesus is the living Word of God. He was in the beginning and He was with God and He was God Himself. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

Jesus says of Himself that He is the Truth, the Way and the Life. He says that He is the Bread of Life. He speaks what God speaks without error. When He speaks, He speaks with divine authority, with grace, with wisdom, with power, with knowledge, with truth and love. He proclaims the righteousness of God. And He uses Scripture to rebuke and correct and to guide.

Now, both of them are the Word of God but we can not live with one while neglecting the other one. They belong together and are one. You can not love Jesus but have no desire to read the Word also if you think that Jesus spoke to you but you can't find it in the Word it is not of Jesus, since He doesn't speak anything against or not according to His Word.

The Word of God is what God, Himself, speaks. It is what He thinks and it is coming out of His very heart. When we know and understand His Word, we get to know and understand His heart.

It is very interesting to see that He blessed us with His whole Word. Now, this doesn't mean that God doesn't have more to say, NO! God's wisdom is endless. It just means that He told us everything WE need to know in order to survive in this world and to be prepared for the world to come. He told us everything we need to know from beginning to end. There is nothing which should surprise us since He made sure to tell us everything we need to know concerning history, present and future events.

His Word also says that it is forbidden to take anything away from it or to add anything to it. Otherwise the Word would be twisted and not perfect and complete and holy in itself. It wouldn't be 100% the truth.

With that being said there are two parts of the Word. The reading part and the living part. The Scriptures help us to understand God's heart and will for our lives and Jesus helps us living according to it through His Holy Spirit. 

If you don't read the Word, you won't understand God and you would be spiritually dead and defenseless against the tricks of the enemy. If you don't live it, you can't please God, since your faith wouldn't be complete and faith without works is dead and it's impossible to please God without faith.

We have to abide in Him and His Word to understand and live it. 

Through His Word, by beholding Jesus, we are being transformed more and more into His image.

Just as Jesus is with us everywhere and everyday of our lives, it's important that the written Word is with us everyday and everywhere too.

Only For A Moment

We are so frail
And yet in all our frailty
He loves us

"As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer." -Psalm103:15-16

Our bodies though magnificent are temporary
The strength of our youth soon fades
Then we are hooked to support systems
Our bodies are opened up to replace parts that are dysfunctional

Yet in all our weakness
We dare think that we do not need the Eternal One

 "For dust you are and to dust you will return." -Genesis 3:19

But He loves us still
And died so that one day
This tent of ours will
Be replaced by a house far more beautiful

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." -2Cor.5:1

Guest Post: Walking in Obedience to His Way by Wadzanai Kaziboni

Obeying the voice of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit is an important aspect in our daily walk with Christ. We need this continuous and unwavering communication to navigate every aspect in our lives, especially when making decisions that affect us, such as whether or not to do that degree, whether or not to take that job offer and so on. Many a time we find ourselves in situations that would not have occurred had we chosen to obey. We pay that price by making a sacrifice of another element in our life such as our joy, time and perhaps happiness. There are instances also where the voice of God in our hearts is as clear as day and yet we choose to do what we want regardless of the unconcealed guidance and direction of God. This brings me to Saul and his disobedience which he paid a dear price for. In 1 Samuel 15- God clearly instructed Saul to attack Amalek and utterly destroy it. Saul chose to use his discretion, blatantly ignoring the voice of God, by sparing the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings and the lambs and all that was good even though God had set out a clear directive which was to destroy everything.

God then said“I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.”  1 Samuel 15:11.

Does God speak the same of you?

1 Samuel 15:22

“So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”

In response to Samuel, Saul said 1 Samuel 15:24“I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”

We need to learn to hear more of God and less of people around us and to do things out of the fear of God as opposed to doing things because we are scared of people and their opinions no matter how important these people may be to us. It is also important to be able to discern when God is speaking to you through another person. That is why we need to pray for God to teach us to obey and help us to know when it is Him talking, to be able to recognize His voice.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind”

This should be one of the guiding principles when discerning the voice of God.

Hebrews 5:8 “though He was a Son, yet he learned obedience by the things he suffered.” 

This is a clear illustration of one of the ways on which obedience is learned. Sometimes choosing the path of disobedience seems like a more appealing and less rocky-route in the terrains of life. However even though it seems easier and takes less of our time and effort at first glance it costs more in the long run. The path of obedience on the other hand is not an easy one, because it is not that we follow in our own strength therefore we need to ask God to teach us to obey Him and enable us to obey Him. This path is worthwhile because God is our Father and He loves us and has our best interests at heart.

Matthew 7:11 ‘If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

“But when we position ourselves under the headship of Christ and learn to do what He requires of us, there is a flow of the Holy Spirit that will carry us wherever we need to go.” (Stormie Omartian- The Power of a Praying Woman).